Winter Barn Visits

It's winter and access to the barns has been dicey with snow and ice and then mud for a while. But we've had some nice weather for a few days and I have been able to get out and see my girl.

 Thursday we were having 40 mph winds, and it was cold, so instead of visiting with Abby at the gate or out in the field, I called her into the old barn. (Which wasn't hard - she knows my car and usually comes up as soon as she sees me driving down the lane.)

Sheltering in an old wooden barn in the winter when it's warm and full of the smell of hay and horses is a relaxing experience. I could have spent the rest of the afternoon there!

Abby's not cribbing here - she's licking the rails. It's something she does when I finish with her treats. I never see her do it otherwise, so I don't worry about it. (Abby's a slobbery girl; I think she is wiping up the remnants of apples, carrots, and peppermints that got drooled onto the rails.)

Yesterday the winds had died down, so we chatted outside. Again, Abby saw my car arrive and met me at the gate, nickering softly as she walked up. That always makes me smile.

I always check her over during our visits. She's wintering well thus far - she's got a nice, thick coat of hair, her feet are in good shape, and she hasn't dropped any weight.

The weather forecast for the next week is for more of the same - cold temperatures but no snow or ice, so I should be able to see her daily. She'll like that, and so will I!

Ornament from Belle Meade

Sarah and her family visited Cole and his family in Nashville this fall. One of the things they did was to visit Belle Meade Plantation, a very old (established in 1807) horse farm.

They brought me back a Christmas ornament as a souvenir.

Holiday Decor

My family members may not be horse lovers, but they love me and are willing to indulge my passion for horses. Gifts from them are often horsey.

Like these holiday salt and pepper shakers that Sarah got me for Christmas this year!

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful!

I never minded snowy weather when I was younger. I remember walking down icy concrete steps into the wooded ravine where our horses' paddock was every morning to feed and water them. I fell a few times, but teenagers and young adults are resilient and it was no biggie.

It sure is now. While I wouldn't call myself old, I am older. More importantly, though, are the joint issues I have from arthritis. Both my knees have been replaced, one hip as well, and I've had three ankle surgeries and a spinal fusion. I now have to be very careful about where I walk and not falling. (I would never tackle those icy steps now!)

So, when we get snow or ice, it is very hard to visit Abby. Both barns have long lanes leading out to them, and while Tim does a terrific job managing the property, it is still difficult for me to visit Abby when there is snow on the ground.

One solution is "drive by" visits - in the winter the herd hangs out a lot at the old barn, and it is close enough to a country road that I can often drive by slowly and do a visual check of my girl. It's certainly not ideal, but at least I can see her. (And I know Tim checks the herd daily when he feeds, so I don't have to worry about her having an unnoticed injury.)

Compound that with the shortened days of winter, and sometimes when I leave work it is already too dark to be able to do a drive by. Those are the most frustrating days of all.

We have had a layer of ice over snow for nearly two weeks now and I am missing my Abby time.

But the forecast is looking to be unseasonably warmer for a while so things should be thawing and I'll be able to get out to see her.  While I am sad that we won't have a white Chrismas, I am thrilled I'll be able to get to visit Abby!

Black Beauty - a Gift

Today a student approached me with with a gift bag, asking me to open it. "It's a classic connection!" he said with a big smile.

He was right!

A Black Beauty ornament!

My students read a children's classic book every semester, then write a paper and do a project which they then present to the class. We have two presentations every Friday morning. Black Beauty is well-loved by the kids - they are very aware that Anna Sewell changed the way animals are treated by her book. It is an excellent example of the power of the pen.

I'll display my new ornament at school until winter break begins and then bring it home and hang it on the horse-themed tree in my horse room. 

It will be a wonderful reminder of things I love - horses, classic books, and my students. 

The Lafayette Christmas Parade

Lafayette's Christmas parade has been going on since the 1940s and maybe even longer than that. When I was in high school, I rode Cee in it along with my high school band as part of the mounted dragoons. (So. Much. Fun!)

I'm sick, so I did not go yesterday, but my sister, Leslie, sure did. She even got to ride in the parade!

 The Farm at Prophetstown brought a buckboard and Clydesdales!

 Leslie with Barney pre-parade.

 The wagon was beautifully decorated.

 Hitching up Barney and Mike.

The parade was held at night and led to the town's tree lighting ceremony on the other side of the Wabash River.

Loose Horse!

I was visiting with Abby up by the old barn this afternoon, and like usual, counted noses. Snickerdoodle wasn't around. I scanned the pastures for him, and caught sight of him over by the new barn, all by himself.

I couldn't tell for sure because I was so far away, but it looked like he was loose. He was right next to the small paddock, but was he in it or on the other side of the fence?

I hopped into my car and drove around the property to the new barn to find out.

Yep! He was outside of the fence, all right!

I keep Abby's halter and lead rope in my trunk, so I popped the lid and grabbed them and my leather gloves. I also unwrapped and pocketed several peppermints - I'd never given Snickerdoodle a treat before, but I wanted to have something to entice him, just in case.

As I walked over to him, it was clear he knew what I intended, and he turned away from me. I paused, and so did he. Speaking in a gentle tone, I held out my hand and offered him the treat. He took a couple of hesitant steps toward me, but as soon as he heard the chain on my lead rope jingle, he backed off again.

At this point, Karen, who lives in the new house on the property, came up behind me. She had seen Snickers was loose from her windows and had come out to help. Turns out Snickers had been out overnight, too! She'd caught him this morning and then walked the fence, but couldn't see where he'd gotten through. So she'd put him back in with the other horses and had been keeping an eye out the window, just in case.

Together we herded the little escapee back through the gate of the small paddock and then into the main pasture with the other horses. We then added some rope between the posts of the fence where we suspected he was pushing through.

Tim is out of town and due back tonight. Karen is going to keep an eye out her windows and call me if she needs help rounding up Snickerdoodle again.

I would not be surprised if I get a phone call.

Decorating for the Holidays

Last Christmas I enjoyed seeing the pictures people would post of their stables at the holidays. I found I loved the scenes of life with horses in miniature, and the homey feeling it gave me.

So, I decided to give it a try and set up a very modest little scene. It wasn't much, but I enjoyed it and have kept it out all year.

I'm working on an update for the 2016 Christmas scene. While I am not done yet, it is coming along nicely. (Some day I'll dress that doll in better clothes!)

There is a tree at JoAnns Fabrics I'd like to buy - it's more realistic and it comes with working, in-scale miniature lights! This one is an old show prop from the 1990s. Its decorations are beads and earring charms that I put on hangers.

I plan to rewrap the packages and make some more that are smaller. And, I may even add another doll.

In the meantime, though, I am feeling very festive as I putter in my horse room.

The Ghosts of Horses Past

Since our kids are coming for Christmas and were not here for Thanksgiving, I found myself with some quiet time today. Normally on the day after Thanksgiving, I would have a houseful of people and a full day planned; today, not so much.

So, I decided to do something that I'd planned to do over the summer but had not gotten done since both our moms passed away and I had a spinal fusion. I cleaned out the family history closet - a closet where I store all our photos, journals, and other family memorabilia.

And in doing so, I came across some photos I had not seen in a long, long time. Including some of horses I have owned and loved in the past.

I kept this one in a frame on my desk for years.

That's Amy on the left (see how much she looks like Abby?) and Cee Hunt on the right. Amy was my very first horse and will ALWAYS be my favorite. I was twelve when I got her, and she found her forever home with us. She died in 1991 at 25.  This photo was take in 1978.

Here's another picture of Cee. He was a registered Quarter Horse and my show horse. He was experienced and very mild mannered.

Get him around a body of water, and he was a happy boy. He loved to swim and would leap off banks into the water. This is me swimming with him in the mid 1970s. We're in Burnett Creek in Battleground, Indiana. I also used to swim him in the Wabash River off the beach in front of our home.

Indy (Indabab's Image) was a registered half-Arab that I owned when we lived in Illinois. I never, ever wore that horse out - like a typical Arab, he always had energy to spare. But he was still a gentle, kind boy and we enjoyed many fun times together. I brought him back to Lafayette, Indiana and sold him to a friend when I was pregnant with my sixth child. I knew I would simply not have time for him after Cole's birth and wanted to see him through to a good home so I would not worry about what happened to him.

Finding photos of these wonderful horses today, those "ghosts of horses past," made me smile. And, feel very, very grateful to have had them in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Cold, Late Afternoon Visit

It's cold here in Indiana, and the afternoon daylight is waning by the time I finish grading papers and am ready to leave school. So, my visits with Abby right now are short. Still, it is worth swinging around past the barn to see her, especially when she comes up as soon as she sees me or hears me call her name.

Tonight I filmed her as she came up to say "hello."

Abby's neck is doing well - the swelling is gone and the rubbed spot is healing and dry. After checking her neck and then giving her the remains of my apple from lunch and a couple of peppermints, I hustled back to my car.

Snickerdoodle (gelded last week!) and Sultana also came up to visit.

Tim's got himself a nice matched pair of palominos! And they have sweet personalities, too.

I left after only a few minutes with Abby as it was chilly. Brrr! I am NOT ready for cold weather!

A Surprise Gift from a Student

I have a girl in my class with some significant struggles going on in her life. She has broken down in tears a few times when talking to me, and I have been trying to help her as much as I can, although the issues are at home and all I can do is try to make the hours she is at school safe and secure ones, and hope that she feels loved and cared for while in my room.

She had a pretty tough break down last week, and she finally, finally let me give her a hug. That sort of opened the gates, and now she will allow me to hug her at the end of the day when she is leaving -  something she would not allow prior to that.

Today, she shyly approached my desk and gave a gift to me that she'd made over the weekend.

A horse with flowers (and maybe roller skates, too!!) and the letter "I" for my last name.

To say I was touched would be an understatement. And I am delighted for the breakthrough that it represents - I hope that she will continue to let me help her with her struggles while she is with me at school.

Neck Scrape

Rarely does Abby have an injury - I have never even had to make a vet call for her in all the years I've had her. (Tim does all her shots and deworming.) I check her over every time I am with her, but aside from occasional small scrapes or rubs, she has never had any major injuries.

So, when I spotted a swelling on her neck Sunday afternoon, I did a double take and made a closer inspection.

It was the swelling that actually caught my eye. While not extensive,  I could still see the puffy spot on her windpipe when she was in silhouette.

 It looked worse than it actually is - but she's fine. I think she must've stuck her head through the rails of the paddock fence and scraped herself.

It's a surface wound with some hair loss, but it's not bleeding or weeping. I will continue to check it every afternoon after school until it heals and otherwise not worry about it.

The Last Nice Day

Today the weather was beautiful - sunny and in the low 70s. Tomorrow it is supposed to go downhill with the temperature dropping nearly forty degrees and high winds blowing throughout the day. I decided I really ought to head out to the barn and visit Abby and enjoy Fall's last whimper.

Abby's head popped up as soon as she saw my car turn into the lane, and she began nickering and walking up. (Not a very flattering picture of her, but most of those I took of her were very blurry.)

 Her coat is super frosted right now.

I love how the white hairs shift and move throughout the year. When she has her winter coat, she will look mostly sorrel (except for her spots, which never change.)

 We spent some time together and then I had to head home and get some work done. I am pleased that Abby is the picture of health as we begin to head into winter.

Documenting Hobby History, the Survey

(Nancy Kelly asked long-time hobbyists to take a survey. My responses are below.)

Hobby History Survey - Lynn Isenbarger

November, 2016

1. When and how did you first start your model horse collection (year/age). What manufacturer?

My first piece was a Japan china horse with a saddle and chain reins (Little Bit sized) that Santa Claus brought me in 1963. (I was six.) My mother said I loved horses from my earliest years, and as a toddler, I would stand in the car and get all excited about the horses we saw as we drove. (This was before car seats and before seat belts were mandatory!)  I loved that “glass” horse, and still have it in my china cabinet with my HRs and other fine china despite its broken-up, yellow glued legs. That piece started a collection of other Japan chinas (no HRs - too expensive in comparison) and I had twenty or so before I got my first Breyer, a woodgrain Running Foal that my father bought me the day I got my braces. He suggested I name him “Needles” after the race horse and as a pun about the needles dentists use! Since the chinas were so fragile and always breaking, Breyers (and Breyer knock-offs and Hartlands) became my new collecting focus.

2. When did you realize that there were other model horse people out there? JAH?

My friends, Bobbie Vance and Carol Holmes, also collected. We used to put our horses and homemade tack and props into large brown grocery bags, sling the bags over the handle bars of our bikes (yikes!!), and go to each other’s homes to play. We held a lot of horse shows with them, and made paper ribbons (in scale to the Breyers) as awards that we would tape to their bridles. We even had gaming classes and would hand-gallop our models around the barrels, actually timing them. We also had dolls (the smaller Marx dolls, not Jane West but her smaller counterparts. Josie West, I think) and Barbie’s sister, Skipper, Liddle Kiddles, anything that worked and was reasonably in scale. We set up ranches in our bedrooms with bunkhouses, barns, riding rings, etc. Talk about carpet herds at their finest! 

Then, in 1970, Horse and Rider magazine published the article where Ray Rich (editor) judged IMPHSA’s championship show. I had never seen a Hagen Renaker before, but I recognized the Breyers. (And the Beswick Appaloosa in the article became my most wanted piece for years!) I wrote Ellen Hitchins and joined the club - that opened a whole new world for me! There were not a lot of us, but the competition was tough and so much fun!

As for JAH, I did not subscribe at the beginning. I do not remember why. But, definitely the emerging hobby led Breyer and not the other way around. I think Peter Stone and others at the company saw what collectors were doing and followed suit. JAH began well after the first hobby clubs started. Breyer did support us (see copy of the letter I sent you with a list of clubs on it that Breyer compiled and would send you if you inquired.)

3. What model horse publications do you remember? Who produced them? I'm hoping to get at least a cover shot of each of them.

I have told you about IMPHSA and IMFPSA as well as my club, ABMHSA. As the hobby was gaining ground, the variety of clubs expanded quickly. Many were breed-based. (For example, in the copy of the ABMHSA newsletter I sent you, Sue Seese’s club for Thoroughbreds is listed and you can see its information there.) Marney Walerius did not run a formal club (as I remember) but she came after Ellen Hitchins (please note that her name is spelled correctly this way; some folks replace the second “i” for an “e” but that is wrong) and Simi Smiljanic and quickly became the hobby guru - someone who was very active in the hobby, who loved to correspond with other hobbyists, and who held some of the very first formal live shows. Live shows in “backyard” form had been going on for years - like the ones Bobbie, Carol, and I had, other hobbyists did the same before the hobby began formalizing. In my opinion, live shows have been going on much longer than most people credit because they do not count the get togethers people like me had. I think Laurie Jo Jensen had backyard-type shows before we became more organized, too, but I could me wrong on that. Someone did - I just can’t document it outside of saying that I know it happened.

I subscribed to Linda Walters’ journal for years and years and we corresponded quite a bit. (I still have her address memorized except for the zip code!) She was like Marney in that she welcomed letters and responded quickly. For perspective, since we had no internet and long distance phone calls were very expensive, the hobby was run mostly through the post office. Model horse “breeding” was beginning (for a fee of a nickel or so, you could use someone’s models as a sire or dam for yours.) Lots of ads for breeding, model shows, and sales lists were in the journals. It was a very big deal to get a new hobby mag in the mail or to hear back from Marney, Linda, or another hobbyist!

4. Did you participate in photo showing? Any memories of that?

All the time! I held photo shows as well as sent “pix” to many, many shows. Ribbons would be awarded, and most were homemade. (I have a bunch if you’d like to see samples.) Rarely were they commercial ribbons, although sometimes those were offered and that was a very big deal. It also made the cost of entering the show go up. After the show was held, you had to wait for the show holder to type the results before your photos were returned. Depending on the show holder, this could take a while, so most of us had multiple copies of our show photos so we could “attend” other shows without waiting. 

It was through holding photo shows that I began seeing the earliest customs. They were fabulous! (Although not even competitive nowadays compared to what current artists do!) Linda Leach (Hardy) and Kathy Masestas were well-known customizers as was Sherri Cook. (I still have three that she did.) They began to be eclipsed by others - Julie Froelich comes to mind. I could never afford her work!

5. When/where/what was the first live model horse show you attended? Do you remember your initial reaction? What were the early shows like?

Besides the backyard ones, not until the very early 1990s (possibly late 1980s.) As a teen, I was also showing live horses and my parents could only take me to one or the other, and I chose live horse showing over attending model horse live shows so I did not attend the earliest live shows of the formal hobby. Then, I got married to Craig in 1976 (we celebrate our 40th anniversary next month!) and had six kids - traveling to live shows was too expensive and not possible logistically until they were older. Three of my kids, Jessica, Lisa, and Cole, participated in live showing with me for a while, and Jessica appeared in JAH when they published an article on live shows around the country. (I’d have to look up the date for that.) My first live shows were IndyCon and others held by a very active group in Indianapolis. (Perhaps Simi’s legacy?) I found them so much fun as well as eye opening - the customs were so improved, resins were beginning, the tack and creativity! Competition was at a much higher level than the photo shows that I still was participating in, but best of all was the opportunity to actually meet fellow hobbyists and discuss model horse collecting.

6. Did you belong to any model horse clubs, associations, or groups?

Lots - IMPHSA, IMFPSA, ABMHSA are the ones I remember and was most active in. 

7. Any favorite memories of other model horse collectors?

Beth Dickinson, who is still a very active hobbyist from Pennsylvania, and I were pen pals in 1971. I told her about IMPHSA, she joined, and she got started in the hobby then like me. I am sure she would talk to you and she might give you a different perspective from me as she likes customs and had some of the earliest. Let me know if you’d like her contact information. We have been friends for longer than I have known my husband!

Sue Seese is also an early hobbyist although she no longer collects. She went on to real horses and showed QHs at the world level. She is no longer a horse owner but we are still friends and in contact. She could probably give you information about the hobby at its earliest, too. Let me know if you want that contact information.

Nancy Falzone is the queen of HRs (in my opinion; Jo Ellen Arnold is also there.) I first met Nancy when I was at an auction in Illinois, looking for HSOs. I noticed a petite woman and another lady who were watching me and wondered what was going on. Finally, they came over and Nancy said boldly, “I think you are one of us. Are you a horse collector?” What an introduction to a great lady! Michelle Oviatt was the other woman, and the three of us hung out together at the auction the rest of the day, chatting and sharing. I don’t remember buying anything there, but Michelle later helped me find some pieces I was looking for elsewhere, and Nancy and I began corresponding via mail and then email. I bought several pieces from her and always enjoy seeing her in person!

8. What do you remember about Marney Walerius?

She was a nice gal who happily mentored everyone. I only saved one of her letters (wish I had them all!) but she would take time for anyone who was interested in the hobby. Personally, I think of Ellen and Simi as the founders of the formal hobby as Marney came a few years after them, but Marney was different in that she had a “broader base” so to speak of those with whom she connected. We did meet several times at BreyerFest, and I was saddened by her early passing.

9. What do you remember about Linda Walter?

Lovely lady! Kind, willing to mentor, and like Marney, someone who really furthered our hobby and helped it grow from grassroots to where it is today. We corresponded all the time, but I cannot find any of our letters at the moment. It makes me smile to know that I still have her mailing address memorized! We met at BreyerFest a few years ago, and she was shyer in person than I anticipated. We spent about a half hour together just talking, and she soon warmed up, especially when she remembered me from our past years’ correspondence.

10. What do you remember about Ellen Hitchens?

For me, Ellen is where it all began. (She is better known than Simi, but Simi was every bit a part of the early hobby that Ellen was.) I really looked up to Ellen and credit her for helping me get my feet wet, helping me to discover that there were others like me (and Bobbie and Carol) with whom I could connect. She, too, would readily answer questions from those of us who were joining her club. And, I credit her with bringing the hobby its first national notice through that article in Horse and Rider magazine. Laurie Jo Jensen told me that Ellen passed away some time ago, and had left the hobby for real horses prior to her death. Simi is still living and in Cincinnati. After her marriage, she got into following auto racing with her husband. She now has a brain injury and has some difficulty in communicating clearly, but if you want to talk to her, I will see if she is okay if I give out her contact information.

11. How has your collection morphed over the years?

With the discovery of IMPHSA and the magazine article, I discovered Hagen Renakers. Depending on my life stages as a collector (child/teen, early marriage/motherhood, later marriage/motherhood, empty nester/employed teacher) I have had times when I could afford them and times when I could not. I learned to keep my eyes open at antique shops and flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. I m pleased to say that I have a modestly nice collection of vintage DW pieces. I also collect Breyers, although my focus is on vintage. (That Vintage Collectors Club is perfect for me!!)  I’ve a fairly good collection of Hartlands, too, and those beloved Japans, but my real loves are the HRs and Breyers. I have 1,000+ pieces in my collection and I live show once or twice a year, and have only occasionally gone to BreyerFest in recent years due to health issues. But, I’ve had both knees and a hip replaced, and a spinal fusion just a few months ago, so I may be up to traipsing around BreyerFest in the future! (Fingers crossed!)

12. Are there any other model-horse related activities that you participate(d) in? Please go into as much detail as you'd like on this one.

I dabbled in tack making and customizing enough to know that I do not have the skills for that! I would like to try doll-making, and I sew well, so I think I could do that so that’s a “retirement possibility.” (I am a teacher and still in the classroom.) For three years I held a live show, Lincoln Land Live, in Illinois. I would love to hold a collectibility show for Breyers and Hagen Renakers - again, “retirement possibility.” I love to write and have a private hobby blog where I keep track of my collection, purchases, releases, and hobby-related things. As I get older, (pushing 60!) I am finding it harder to accurately remember dates and things, so my hobby blog serves that purpose for me.

Documenting Hobby History, Part 6

(Part 6 of the information I sent Nancy Kelly as she undertakes her project of documenting our hobby's history.)

Here are some photo show results I had from a show I had entered. Note the early date and the rating of the show is "C."

Tracking a Year's Worth of Blogging

On November 8, 2015, I started tracking how many reads three of my blogs were getting. I had MapLoco which tracked where readers were from, and that was fun, but I also wanted to know how many people were reading. I love to write and will write regardless of readership (I have other private blogs that exemplify that), but I was curious at the same time as to just how big my readership was on my three main blogs.

The results were surprising.

 This is a screen shot of the beginning of the tracking. (I discontinued tracking Flying High with Mrs. I  because it was for my students' families, and I switched them over to Facebook - a much easier format for my students' parents to use.)

And here's today's. (Since I accidentally deleted two numbers on 11/6/16 for Horsiemama, I am actually tracking from the second week, but it is still a full year.)

Teachinmama went from 30,236 to 33,280 reads in the year's time. That's 3,044 reads this year or 59 reads per week.

The stats for Horsiemama are similar. The numbers begin at 7,330 and end at 10,745. That means I had 3,415 reads total or 66 per week.

What's more interesting to me personally is that, although the readership is close in numbers, the people reading the blogs are very different. Teachinmama is my "grandaddy" blog - I started it in 2008 as my personal blog and it is read solely by family members. It is private and can only be read by invitation.

Horsiemama targets a different audience. I started it in 2012 when I got Abby and began filling the pages of Teachinmama with Abby tales. (Abby Tails would have been a fun name for her blog!) I wrote about her so much that I decided to give her her own blog, but I did not take hers private as I have many horsey friends, both real and model, who I thought might enjoy it. And, most of my family members are non-horse lovers, and are happy just reading Teachinmama. Only occasionally does someone cross over and read both.

Looking at MapLoco, I see that Teachinmama has been read on 1 continent, North America, while Horsiemama has readers in 5 continents. (Only missing is Africa and Antarctica!) The dots are clustered around places where family members live in the USA on the map for Teachinmama, whereas they are all over the country for Horseimama plus a large cluster in Europe and smaller clusters in Asia and Australia.

It was a fun experience for me to track this past year and then look at the results. I think I will continue filling in stats each week and, next year at this time, compare the two years and see if things have changed.

Stay tuned!

Documenting Hobby History, Part 5

(Part five of a series of photos and documents that I sent Nancy Kelly as she works on documenting hobby history.)

Breyer used to maintain a list of clubs which they would send you for a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope.) Of course, I mailed in for one in 1972! Notice, though, the changes already evident - no IMPHSA. There are some familiar names on this later!

Documenting Hobby History, Part 4

(More information and things that I have stored in my hobby closet which I sent Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

In 1972, I decided to create my own club, ABMHSA. (All Breeds Model Horse Showers Association.) Lot's of folks were doing the same - we were so excited to be connected! Dues were about $2 a year (I think) and you got a newsletter every month. Again, I think.)

Professional publication was very expensive so I would use carbon paper and make four or five copies and then repeat. (Ditto machines were the method of mass producing things, not xeroxing at the time. I did not have access to a ditto machine.) People sent in pictures and articles, we held shows, and it was a lot of fun.

I ran it until 1975 when I graduated from high school and was heading to college. Someone took it over for me (Cynthia Gardner, possibly) and I have seen a later club in the hobby with the same name. I have no idea if it is the club I started or if someone else just had the same idea for a name.

I had forgotten that we rated our shows. And take a look at the fifth picture - it mentions that Hagen Renaker was no longer going to be making the DW horses!

Helping Document Hobby History, Part 3

(Continuing the series of pictures and information that I sent to Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

We did not have the internet back then, and long distance phone calls were expensive, so most hobby business was conducted through the mail. Some people began formalizing things (like Kathy Maestas' book) and Barry Mayse (not sure on the spelling of her last name) put together a reference on Japan chinas with help from fellow hobbyists. People sent her photos of their Japans with as much documentation as they had on them, and she compiled them into a reference book. The idea was to update it periodically, but I do not know if that happened.

The photos here are from the 1998 edition. This reference book really appealed to me as my first pieces in my collection were "glass horses" (as we called them) and it was fun being in touch with others who also loved them and might be able to shed light on what I had.

Helping Document Hobby History, Part Two

This is part two of a series of pictures and notes that I sent to Nancy Kelly who is working on documenting early hobby history.

In the early 1970s, customized models began turning up in photo shows. They often blew the competition away. Kathy Maestas did a booklet that she sold to hobbyists about customizing and showing. She was considered a top notch customizer as were Linda Leach (Hardy) and Sherri Cook. Prices for customs were about $25 and they usually came with a set of show pictures.

For $12 (a high price back then!) I was barely able to afford a customized Hartland by Sherri Cook, Pace's Hi Hopes.

That piece won ribbon after ribbon, championship after championship. Now, he's not competitive at all, but he most definitely is a valued piece of hobby history as one of the earliest examples of customizing that has survived over time.

(Stay tuned - there are five more parts to come!)

Fall Break at Last!

Lisa and I both teach in the same school corporation and are on Fall Break. She's lucky - her school is down the road from the barn while mine is twelve miles away!

I was headed out to see Abby and knew Lisa was using one of her days off to catch up in the classroom. That meant she was close to the barn and might not mind taking a break from her work. So, I called her and asked if she wanted to head out to visit the herd with me. Of course, she agreed.

 She had Millie with her, and Millie always loves to visit the barn!

 Diablo and Hokey were in the northeast pasture...

 ... while Abby, Trouble, Snickerdoodle, and Sultanna (who is back from training) were in the northwest pasture. The gate was open between the two pastures, and the herd had spread out.

 I LOVE this picture of Trouble and Lisa in similar poses!

 Having Lisa along meant that I got some pictures of me with my girl. She snapped some while I offered Abby her carrots.

 I have discovered that pasture ornaments are good for the soul.